Read The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds Online
Authors: Bobbi Holmes
Walt stood inside the
house and watched Clarence drag Danielle’s lifeless body toward the kitchen
door.
“Do something!” Cheryl
shouted, now standing in the house next to Walt.
“I can’t do anything
until he gets inside. But when he does….” Walt watched as Clarence opened the
door. He tugged Danielle’s body inside the kitchen, dropping it on the floor.
When Clarence went to close the door, Walt leaned down beside Danielle. “She’s
still breathing,” he told Cheryl.
“What are you going to
do about him?” Cheryl pointed to Clarence who now stood over Danielle.
“I’m sorry I have to do
this,” Clarence said aloud. “If your cousin hadn’t come, none of this would
have happened.”
“Do something!” Cheryl
continued to jump up and down.
“Be quiet, I want to
hear what he has to say. There will be plenty of time to deal with him. I won’t
let him hurt Danielle any more.” Walt watched Clarence.
“We’ll have to make
this look like an accident. I’ll carry you up the stairs and let you take a
nice tumble,” Clarence said.
“That’s what Roger was
going to do to me,” Walt said.
“Who’s Roger?” Cheryl
asked.
“My brother-in-law.”
Walt didn’t take his eyes off Clarence.
“Gee, nice
brother-in-law…I wonder why Mr. Renton says none of this would have happened if
I hadn’t come. What did I do wrong?”
“Aside from stealing
the necklace? Being annoying?” Walt asked.
“Sometimes you can be mean.”
Cheryl frowned.
“Hush, I want to hear
what he has to say.”
Hooking his arms under
Danielle’s armpits, Clarence began to drag her unconscious body backwards,
toward the kitchen door leading to the hallway. The effort taxed his overweight
body, his breathing labored from the exertion.
“Damn, you feel like a
ton of bricks,” Clarence moaned. “If your damn cousin hadn’t come nosing
around, threatening to look into your aunt’s will I wouldn’t have to do this.
But maybe this will work out for the best.” Clarence chuckled. “Yes, it really
might. O’Malley Trust won’t just be getting the rest of your aunt’s money—it
will be getting your cousin’s. Damn, I couldn’t have planned this better if I
tried!” Clarence laughed as he dragged Danielle into the wide entry hall
leading from the front door to the stairs.
Walt had heard enough.
Clarence didn’t see it coming, the bronze statue that floated from the library,
hovering over the attorney’s head. Just as Danielle was regaining conscious the
statue dropped, crashing down on Clarence’s skull, sending him sprawling
unconscious on the entry hall floor.
Rubbing her sore
forehead, Danielle sat up and looked around. Clarence was sprawled on the floor
next to her, either unconscious or dead, she wasn’t sure. Jumping to her feet
she looked around frantically. The moment she spied Walt and Cheryl relief
washed over her. “What happened?”
“Your attorney tried to
kill you,” Walt said angrily.
“Is he dead?” Danielle
looked down at the man by her feet.
“I don’t think so,”
Walt said as the bronze statue rose from the floor, hovering again over the
attorney’s head. “But I can take care of that.”
“No!” Danielle cried
out.
• • • •
Brian Henderson and Joe
Morelli stood on the front porch of Marlow House. Joe was just about to ring
the bell when he heard a woman frantically cry out, “No!” Without hesitation he
and Brian rushed inside.
Danielle Boatman stood
in the middle of the hallway, her hands raised in the air as she held a bronze
statue. On the floor was a man, who it was Brian and Joe couldn’t tell. But it
was obvious to them she was about to hit the helpless man a second time.
“Don’t move!” Brian and
Joe called out simultaneously.
Danielle hadn’t heard
anyone come into the house—she had been so intent on stopping Walt from killing
Clarence Renton. Looking to the voices, Danielle found herself staring down the
barrel of two guns. She almost dropped the statue, but she managed to stop
herself, terrified one of the men would shoot her.
“Put it down slowly,”
Joe ordered.
“I’ll take care of
this!” Walt said angrily.
“No Walt, please. Let
me handle this, please,” Danielle begged, slowly lowering the statue to the
floor.
Holstering their guns,
the officer’s rushed forward, Brian pulling Danielle’s arms around her back as
he handcuffed her wrists, while Joe leaned down by Clarence’s side, checking
his vitals.
“It’s Clarence Renton,
he’s alive,” Joe announced before calling for an ambulance.
• • • •
Danielle sat alone in
the interview room, her head throbbing. She’d asked for a couple aspirin, but
so far no one had bothered to give her any. On the way to the police station,
Cheryl sat in the back of the police car with Danielle, telling her what
Clarence had said while she was unconscious. When they arrived at the station,
Cheryl disappeared. Danielle didn’t know where she had gone.
“You’re lucky you
didn’t kill him,” Joe said when he entered the room and sat down across the
table from Danielle. “I just talked to the hospital; they tell me he’s going to
be okay.”
“He tried to kill me,”
Danielle said angrily. “But I guess you don’t care about that.”
“Why would your
attorney try to kill you?”
“Well gee, why would I
try to kill my attorney?” Danielle snapped. “Look at my head; can’t you see
where he hit me?”
Joe leaned toward her
and looked where she pointed at her temple. “It looks a little red, but nothing
like the number you did on poor Clarence.”
“Poor Clarence? He
tried to kill me!”
“Clarence was just
trying to help you. Just like I am. Let us help you Danielle, before anyone
else gets hurt.”
“What are you talking
about?” Danielle leaned back in her chair and looked at Joe. She remembered the
first time they had met. It seemed like ages ago—yet it had only been weeks.
She thought he was so handsome back then—with his wavy dark hair, friendly brown
eyes. They didn’t look friendly now. He looked at her with pity—as if she was
somehow broken.
“I know Clarence was
just trying to convince you to get some help. He suspected you killed Cheryl
and when he tried to talk to you about it you became enraged, attacked him.”
“He told you that?”
“He told Brian. Brian
talked to him after he regained consciousness.”
“He’s lying. He killed
Cheryl.”
“Please stop, Danielle.
You aren’t helping yourself.”
“And you aren’t
listening to me!” Danielle said angrily.
“We did a little
digging in your background,” Joe said.
“So? I’ve never had any
problem with the law.”
“No, but you do have a
history of mental illness.”
“What are you talking
about?” Danielle felt sick. She knew very well what he was talking about.
“Brian and I heard
you—you said
No Walt, please. Let me handle this, please.
Who did you
think you were talking to?”
“I wasn’t talking to
anyone,” Danielle lied, shifting nervously in her chair.
“I know your parents
were concerned about you. You claimed to hear voices—see things that weren’t
there. They tried to get help for you. I’m trying to help you now.”
“Oh god,” Danielle
groaned. “You think I’m crazy. That crazy me killed my cousin.”
“Like I said, I just
want to …”
“Help me, yes I know.
You keep telling me that. But if you sincerely wanted to help, listen to what I
have to say.”
“Okay. Go ahead.” Joe
leaned back in his chair and studied Danielle.
“I believe there was
something funny about my aunt’s estate.”
“Funny?”
“My aunt left most of
her money to her favorite charities—one in particular received the bulk of her
estate—O’Malley Trust. I never questioned it.”
“I thought you were the
sole heir to your aunt’s estate,” Joe said. “I thought that’s why Cheryl was
contesting the will.”
“No, I just inherited a
small portion of it, Marlow House and a little money. But like I said, most of
Aunt Brianna’s money went to O’Malley Trust. I never thought anything about it
because I never expected to inherit anything in the first place. I was just
thrilled to get Marlow House.”
“Are you suggesting
Clarence Renton did something illegal?”
“I had no idea Aunt
Brianna had Alzheimer’s during her last year. She’d write every few months. The
letters weren’t as long as they used to be, but I didn’t think anything about
it.”
“Cheryl found out your
aunt had Alzheimer’s?”
“Yes. I had no idea.
Cheryl believed Aunt Brianna wasn’t competent when she made her last will—that
she’d never leave her out of it. At the time, I assumed if Cheryl was
successful at proving her claim the only thing that would happen—I’d have to
give her half of my inheritance. But I was wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Joe
asked.
“The court wouldn’t
just look at what I inherited from my aunt, they would look at the non-profits
she left money too—especially O’Malley Trust. I have a feeling if you look into
O’Malley Trust you’ll find Clarence Renton profits in some way. He didn’t want
Cheryl pursuing her case. He needed her out of the way, for good.”
“Why kill you?”
“Because I figured it
out, and I foolishly let him know. He was going to kill me, just like he killed
Cheryl. Plus, with me dead, O’Malley Trust would inherit my money—Cheryl’s
money.”
“I don’t understand.”
“After my aunt’s
inheritance, Mr. Renton encouraged me to make a new will. My husband had
recently died and in my previous will everything went to him. When I couldn’t
decide who I should leave my estate to, Mr. Renton suggested I leave it to my
aunt’s favorite charity—O’Malley Trust. He said I could always change it later
when I decided what I wanted to do. At the time it seemed like a nice gesture.”
Brian popped his head
in the door for a moment, telling Joe the chief wanted to see him. Joe excused
himself and left Danielle alone in the room. She looked up at the mirror on the
wall and wondered if they were watching her.
• • • •
“Well, what do you
think?” the chief asked when he met Joe and Brian in the hall outside of the
interview room.
“I think she believes
what she’s saying,” Joe said.
“Does that mean you
don’t think she killed her cousin?” the chief asked.
“I think she’s a sick
girl,” Joe said sadly. “You didn’t hear her back at Marlow House.”
“It was kind of
strange,” Brian agreed. “She obviously thought she was talking to Walt Marlow.
Ant then there was the way she was preparing to bash in Clarence’s head. I mean
hell, he was already unconscious.”
“How in the world did
you find out about her mental health issues?” the chief asked.
“Mostly from Cheryl
Hartford’s attorney. Apparently Cheryl told him when Danielle was a child she
insisted she could see ghosts. Her parents sent her to a psychiatrist for about
a year. The doctor is retired now. When I called him I wasn’t surprised he’d
refuse to talk about her case, but he inadvertently confirmed she’d been his
patient.”
“So what do you think
we should do?” the chief asked.
“I think she needs a
psychological evaluation,” Joe said.
• • • •
“Hi Grandma,” Adam said
lazily leaning back in the bed.
“Adam where are you?”
“In bed.” Adam yawned
again.
“What, are you sick?”
“No, but I’ve been a
little sleep deprived this past week. Just catching up.”
“Well you need to get
right out of that bed and do something!” Marie said anxiously.
“Do something? What are
you talking about Grandma?”
“About poor Danielle
Boatman. You have to help her. She would never do such a horrible thing. This
would break my dear friend’s heart.”
“What dear friend?”
Adam sat up in the bed and scratched his head.
What is she talking about?
“Brianna O’Malley, of
course! Danielle needs our help. She is practically family.”
“Why does she need our
help?”
“Because she’s been
arrested! I heard through Joyce Pruitt, whose next door neighbor’s niece is
dating a boy who works at the police station. They’re arresting Danielle for
the murder of her cousin!”
“Danielle didn’t murder
Cheryl.”